Disney Channel is getting back into the scripted comedy game with two new live-action comedies set to debut in 2025!
Since the 2000s, Disney Channel has specialized in live-action comedies aimed at the tween market. That’s included now iconic shows like Lizzie McGuire, Hannah Montana, That’s So Raven, Wizards of Waverly Place, and more. It’s a great source of material for the channel and sparked scores of new stars.
It is interesting how Disney has joined in on the “sequel series” trend with Girl Meets World, Raven’s Home and the newly debuted Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. While there has been a buzz on cable networks cutting back on scripted series, Disney is still going strong.
Now, per TV Line, Disney is working on two big live-action series set to debut in 2025. One is a live-action take on a hit animated series while the other may introduce a hot new band to the Disney roster!
Vampirina
Disney Junior fans already know about this character via the animated series based on the books by Anne Marie Pace and illustrated by LeUyen Pham. The title character is a young vampire who tries to fit in when her family moves from Transylvania to a small Pennsylvania town.
The new version updates the story to Vampirina (played by Kenzi Richardson) trying to achieve her dreams of music stardom while attending a performing arts boarding school. She also has to keep her vampire nature secret from her classmates, which becomes trickier when her dad assigns an overzealous ghost to watch over her.
Also in the cast are Faith Hedley as Britney, Jiwon Lee as Sophie, Shaun Dixon as Elijah and Milo Maharlika as Demi. It’s a fun spin on the original idea and likely trying to capture the vibe of Wizards of Waverly Place with a mix of comedy, music and supernatural hijinks to make it a notable new show.
How We Became the Biggest Band In The World
This looks to be a spin on the long-running comedy How I Met Your Mother. In the future, Electric Bloom is a mega-successful band with scores of awards and millions of fans. They sit down to do a documentary on how they got started that flashes back to how the trio (played by Lumi Pollack, Carmen Sanchez and Ruby Marino) all met in middle school.
The show promises some fun with the music and, no doubt, a framing device for each episode, having the future band members talk of some event and then the rest flashbacks to what really happened. A major push is that multiple Oscar-nominated songwriter Diane Warren will be writing the songs for the pilot, meaning Disney may have enough material for an actual album soon.
“How We Became the Biggest Band in the World and Vampirina are two standout additions to Disney Channel’s comedy slate,” Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television, said in a statement. “Both new series are full of all the elements we know our young audiences love: relatable, aspirational characters, upbeat music and plenty of laughter, friendship and heart.”
That both shows revolve around music is interesting as Disney looks to be getting back into the classic cross-promotion of music and TV shows a la Hannah Montana. That several former Disney Channel stars have become hit musicians (Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, and most recently Sabrina Carpenter) adds to it, and the young starlets involved are likely soon going to be pushed in Disney marketing.
There’s no word yet on when either show will release, but Disney Channel fans are assured 2025 will see more laughs and music on the network.